China to inaugurate Yangtze River Delta ECA from April

China’s Ministry of Transport will inaugurate the Yangtze River Delta emission control area (ECA) from April 1.

Vessels berthing at ports in the area will be required using fuel of less than 0.5% sulphur content.

According to He Jianzhong, vice minister of Ministry of Transport, the compulsory ECA policy will be first implemented at Shanghai Port, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Suzhou Port and Nantong Port.

The ministry will later evaluate the effectiveness of the ECAs and has planned to reduce the sulphur content to 0.1% in the next three years.

In November 2015, Ministry of Transport released a plan to create three ECAs at Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Bohai Rim. The Pearl River Delta ECA is likely to be enforced in 2016, something that shipping lines in Hong Kong have led the way on.

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.